“Ever considered the first lycan? Borne of trust on a moonlit night in a time so long ago that the beast has turned to myth. How many stories, do you think, are drawn later into yarns spun when the sun goes down?”

A first attempt at the revitalised BlogBattle using “Moon” as the prompt. In truth, this is a redraft of part of some backstory to a potential WIP. I often use word prompts to explore things before deciding if there’s enough backbone to continue.

This first appeared way back in the A to Z. My reason for a redraft is exams. Both my kids have taken key ones this year and August is results month with… what goes next? One might be leaving home soon and the other entering the next tier at school. Stressful time all round, so writing an entirely new piece was something time hasn’t permitted. Well, it has, but the mind wasn’t sitting right… leaving home, university…

BlogBattle is Back

“Legends are ubiquitous. They represent ages past, lost civilisations, heavenly battles, religious culture and lie at the heart of morality.” Jeremiah Delalande, Lecture on Philosophy of Lore.

The Amanuensis sat in the chair before his desk of scrolls and parchments. His mind elsewhere in time.

Trust in your heart.

Candles continued to illuminate all in front of him. Unending light in his desk of everything and nothing.

She was with child and I never knew.

Back to time again. Was he speaking to those long dead? Had his child birthed, grown old and passed on? Was Yish still alive somewhere? He knew Elves had longevity in years, but if he was now in the distant future what was left outside? Anything? Or total ghost worlds full of sand and dust. Ashes and chaos.

The edges of his mind scraped at almost forgotten memories.

***

“Lores, myths, legends, or whatever races decide to call them, all have origins somewhere. Whispers in time alter these continuously. As a fisherman enlarges the one that got away, so too does each chronicler handing down a tale.

Before the written word, this was passed down in fireside stories while the moon crossed a darkened sky awaiting the return of dawn. Heroism and fables to entertain and teach. Early manuscripts bastardised to create further myths and Gods.”

Delalande had a way of cutting to the chase, a profound scepticism of myths as they appeared to him and a firm belief most were based on hyperbolic fact.

Earth Lore fascinated him. Not least because Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar existed in other worlds, but so too did many of their own mythical legends.

Jeremiah Delalande.

The name swirled back and forth around the Amanuensis’ mind. He stared once more at the candles on his desk.

The topic fascinated him because many were real, taken from other places and turned into fantasy, myths or Gods because that world worked differently. The unexplained becoming figments of some story-teller or monk. Embellished each time before then time moves it ever into the psyche of culture.

His favourite lecture began…

***

Ziu or Tyr, the divine jurist and the binding of Fenrir, the fen hound, father of wolves and son of Loki destined to kill Odin in Ragnarök, but undone by the offspring of that God.

“The Gods feared the wolf cub grown too fast and large. Prophecy told he would consume them. In response they tried to bind the hound in fetters by deceit. Upon seeing the mighty chain that was to be used the beast grew wary. It claimed consent would be given if one of the Gods placed an arm into its maw. Of those present only Ziu, or Tyr, was brave. Once chained the wolf bit his arm off after realising he was deceived.

What does this old Earth myth mean?”

***

The Amanuensis remembered Delalande pacing back and forth in front of a lectern. Behind that was a tapestry depicting the Sorcerers Hill at Ang Nafud. From it fire spewed from Magi surrounded by orc hordes.

It represented the end of olde ways and the birth of The Keep.

At the time of this lecture, one he’d heard many times, he stood by Yish on a balcony overlooking the neophytes. A longing dipped into his mind. She was holding his hand.

Why had he forgotten this?

***

A young elf raised her hand. “That is the story of The Grey Wolf and the Sorcerer Tyrthian Ziumenore. It was about the taming of a beast that hunted children. Rather than destroy the Wolf Tythian used charms to bring it to him. The story says they talked for twenty days until the wolf agreed to be chained and brought through the Realm. This was to show that he now knew better and wasn’t inherently evil. By return the sorceror walked through the forests to wolf packs with his arm in the jaws of the Grey Wolf. Thereafter, elf and forest dwellers lived in harmony.”

***

Yish had squeezed his hand tighter. She knew this elf child and had instructed her recruitment. Foresight and visions had been gifted there. History of mythology was her strong point.

Delalande had paused his pacing and turned to face the elf.

***

“Very good. And what became of the sorcerer?”

“He live deep in the forest for half a century and thereafter was never heard of again.”

“Do you not suppose the wolf ate him?”

“Never, they were inseparable, or so the story goes,”

“And nothing curious about the name?”

***

The Amanuensis knew this patter well. Eleven years it had drawn the opener to a series of lectures on philosophy of lore. He had listened as the child spoke what rested in his mind.

***

“The first three letters from his names are the same as the old Earth myth about Fenrir.”

“Rather coincidental don’t you think?”

***

And so it went on. The crossing of worlds where strange deeds were taken as legend by those not understanding the elemental powers. Held in social memory and elaborated at each retelling. It was only later that each student would learn that crossing worlds was potentially destroying them.

Very kind words indeed, I can’t thank you enough for that. I put test pieces up on here to find out if they are worth pursuing. This one is part of something I’ve been mulling a while. I’ve added more of this to a number of prompts and ran a lot through the A to Z. Most is back story development for a potential novel series.

I’m always interested in the ideas that form from the what-ifs of how legends began. After this, how are you feeling about further pursuing the storyline WIP? I can see some real interest here, and you should definitely read some Terry Brooks. I’d love to know what you think of his writing. I’ve only read MOST of his first Shannara Chronicles book. 🙂

I’ve been meaning to read some Terry Brooks for ages. A few people have suggested it. Legends and myths are proper fascinating too. Absolute prompt maternal lol.

I’ve done a fair few explorations in this particular storyline already. The entire A to Z was based on it. I’ve just not actually started a manuscript yet. It’s one of those that says “One book? You’re having a laugh aren’t you?”

It also involves a chapter I put up here ages ago with Wayland and a certain Black dragon that’s the relic of a species genocide.

The writing style is definitely different. There’s an informational feel to what you’ve got here, whereas Brooks’ books are definitely all fantasy adventure. I have a feeling that as you start writing an actual book with all that you’ve explored, it will have a similar fantasy style because you definitely have the imagination part shining through. 🙂

Thanks Rachael. I actually like this dabbling into unconnected backstories via prompts too. It’s quite daunting thinking of an actual book though. Very different from previous ones genre wise. I shall certainly think about it now though!

There’s also a link on here from Ellen Best to a poetry entry. I’m not sure if it’s on the B.B. page or just here. Have you seen it? I tweeted it to #BlogBattle just now.

Definitely. Hearing people think it might work is one reason I put snippets up lol. I did place her link on the B.B. post. I would have installed it too, but times running out here and I’m off to fetch my eldest at midnight!

So deep… I happily waded all the way into the lake of lore you’ve pooled around these characters. Some people lack the will to commit, and wind up playing pantheonic bingo for the sake of it, while others go to far and lose the story in the steeping. This world felt natural, lived in.

Is it a more typical fantasy with a magical timeline for a parallel Earth or does it draw from real Earth civilisations come-and-gone (post-humanly) in the Terry Brooks manner?

Thanks Kit. Wonderful comment and you’re on the money too. I’ve been mulling this concept since April’s A to Z where the germ of an idea became the theme throughout. The Amanuensis formed during that and I’m now exploring the world before he ended up in the prison of ice.

My take is parallel worlds that touch now and then. Myths and legends crossing over, but not quite the same in each. The concept in the A to Z was to explore all my writing with The Amanuensis as the narrator interviewing characters. That soon got ditched and ended up crosslinking all my work. I’ve not actually read any Brooks…which is terrible I know and am aiming to visit him when my current TBR is slimmer. My usual writing genre is different to this. However I did a test chapter for part of this world on here about a year ago and it was received quite well. Civilisations come and gone fascinate me too…as do myths. Here I wanted to use Norse mythology but slightly altered in the world this is set in. The Keep referenced is a centre piece. It’s sacking trapped the chap in this in a time loop. His civilisation collapsed. I drew a lot in from Templar Lore. I’m not certain a comment reply is doing it justice lol

Hah! No worries, I’m grateful you went into such detail on my behalf (and a little of your own – I know that explaining the rationale to others helps solidify it in your own mind). I’ll need to check out this stuff you’ve already posted. When I studied archaeology, the collapse and decline of complex societies was one of my favourite modules, influenced by and influencing my own fascination with the place of mystical beliefs and legends in the birth, expansion, downfall and cycles of said civilisations. So much meat on that bone!

Trouble with writers is we all try and explain things briefly, but end up digressing when a plots large and we don’t feel justice is being done! Awesome module that was! In fact when you look across the globe rises and falls have happened many times. It makes you think because each one would have people like us now, thinking it could never happen to them. Myths and legends are legion about such things and the cultures belief systems. How many started in something real, but inexplicable, turned into something fantastic, got added to in time and hyperbole did the rest. Two things I often ponder are dragons and that lore system. Imagine being the first to uncover, say, a T-Rex skull. What would you think? No knowlege of geological history. You’d stare at it in disbelief before conjuring an explanation…there be dragons here type of thing. Same with sea monsters. Imagine a time with no motors or sonar. Arcetusis is known to have battles with whales as sucker marks have been seen on them. Now picture the profile of an ancient boat from below. Could it be giant squids were nearer the surface until engines and noise pushed them deeper. Easy to see a sighting like that would, to less knowledgeable times, twist it into a mighty sea monster that drags boats and sailors to their doom….enter the Kraken! Fascinating pub muses lol

Thank you Sheryl. I’ve done this several times and it helps me immensely. I used the A to Z in April and also Linda Hills SoCS to play with backstory ideas entirely using prompts. Some work, some don’t, but I’d rather know in short pieces that get bogged down later. This particular stream of pieces is gaining momentum now in my mind. I’m trying to resist NaNoWriMo this year….but….

Haha I’ve never tried NaNoWriMo…do you enjoy it, too? 🙂 I host a monthly prompts linkup on my own website for people with chronic illness people too, so I get what you mean about the thought processing!

I’ve done the last two NaNo’s and they are enjoyable, but intense. I’m not sure I have the time this year and may swap out the main event for NaNoCamps instead.

Kudos too. I know a few bloggers now that suffer chronic illness and/or pain. I often find their writing highly poignant when it comes to looking at the world and the way they process things. Very inspiring at times.

Phew, I thought I missed the deadline….not sure if I am going to make it, but definitely intending to do so. Anyways, thanks for the reminder(s) 🙂
Beside having ’empty-nest-feelings’, hope all is well dear Gary. XxX

Not quite Patty and 1000 words is an upper limit, not necessarily a target. Some are 500 or less. Everything is welcome. Alls well thanks… now both result days are over! Time to step away from stress methinks for the weekend ahead! Xx